Jewish groups ask for further review of Hagel before confirmation vote
(JNS.org) Jewish groups are seconding the call of Senate Republicans for further review of defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel before a vote is held on his confirmation.
A 58-40 Senate vote on Feb. 14 delayed a final yes or no vote on the former Nebraska senator’s appointment. Sixty votes were needed to proceed.
“Chuck Hagel has served this country, and his state, with distinction, as we have had the privilege to tell him in person,” American Jewish Committee (AJC) Executive Director David Harris said in a statement Feb. 15. “But in light of his complex record in the Senate and controversial statements he has made since his public service on strategic and political affairs— notably grappling with the range of pressing Middle East issues—AJC believes that further Senate deliberation is called for before any final vote is taken.”
The Washington Free Beacon reported last week that Hagel said, “The [U.S.] State Department is an adjunct to the Israeli Foreign Minister’s office,” during a 2007 speech at Rutgers University. Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) Executive Director Matthew Brooks demanded a response from Hagel to that comment, saying, “Senate Republicans are right to insist that final action on this nomination not be rushed.” Hagel previously came under fire after the revelation of 2008 remarks to Middle East peace negotiator Aaron David Miller that “the Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here (on Capitol Hill).”
AJC’s Harris said regarding Hagel’s controversial comments, “We feel it especially important that Senator Hagel be given a full opportunity to clear the air, so that the Senate can have a more thorough picture of the nominee’s views.”
The AJC’s warning on Hagel is a sign that mainstream Jewish groups—not just partisan groups such as the RJC—are increasingly concerned about Hagel
“AJC is a strictly non-partisan organization,” Harris said. “We speak up now only out of concern for policies we deem vital to our nation and central to our organizational mission.”
Before the AJC’s statement, Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) President Mort Klein last week called out Jewish groups, including the AJC, for not publicly opposing Hagel’s confirmation. Jewish organizations are “frightened of making an issue seem more important to Jews than others,” he told the Jerusalem Post.
Jewish groups have not made clear that they “oppose [Hagel] because he is horrible on Iran, he is horrible on terrorism, horrible on Israel, horrible on fighting radical Islam,” according to Klein.
“I was called by major Jewish leaders, personally called, and [they] told me to stop our campaign against Hagel,” Klein said.
One Jewish group outside of ZOA and RJC that did publicly voice concern about Hagel’s nomination early in the game—in a Jan. 9 statement—was pro-Israel education organization StandWithUs, whose CEO Roz Rothstein told JNS.org Feb. 17 that Hagel’s statement at Rutgers “implies that he may buy into very troublesome ideology that accuses Jews of controlling the government, the media, and so on.”
“One would expect that this raises a red flag, so I am sure he will be given an opportunity to explain exactly what he was thinking when he made such an egregious statement,” Rothstein said.
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Rising GOP star Sen. Rubio heads to Israel and Jordan
(JNS.org) Fresh off his response speech to the State of the Union address of President Barack Obama, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is visiting Israel and Jordan this week.
Rubio, a potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate, said he is traveling to the region as part of his official capacity as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and Foreign Relations Committee. He is meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad while in Israel.
“America’s friendship with Israel is a truly special one, and we must continue to do all we can to support this beacon of democracy, religious freedom and free enterprise in the heart of an unstable region,” Rubio’s press statement read.
“As Iran continues its pursuit of a nuclear weapon, we must continue to apply pressure through every possible means in order to prevent a nuclear Iran.”
Obama is scheduled to make his first visit to Israel as president in March. Republicans criticized Obama during his 2012 presidential campaign for not visiting Israel during his first term and for his strained relations with Netanyahu.
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Israel warns Tunisian Jews to protect community
(JNS.org) The Israeli Foreign Ministry has instructed its diplomats to press the international community to encourage Tunisia to protect its Jewish community and sites, Ynet reported.
In late 2010, Tunisia became the birthplace of the “Arab Spring” revolts after deposing longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. A recent assassination of a popular secular politician and human rights advocate, Chokri Belaid, has led to more instability and protests against the ruling Islamist government, while Islamist supporters also staged counter protests.
Amid the renewed instability, the Israeli Foreign Ministry fears that Tunisia’s small Jewish community, estimated to be around 2,000, will face greater dangers. Over the past several weeks, several dozen Jewish gravestones were desecrated and anti-Semitic incitement has risen.
“There appears to be an increase in anti-Semitic statements among local religious clerics and cases of public incitement against Jews,” says a report written by Gideon Bachar, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Department for Combating Anti-Semitism, according to Ynet.
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Israel treats wounded Syrian refugees fleeing civil war
(JNS.org) The Israeli military has received and treated several injured Syrian refugees who approached the Israel-Syria border in the Golan Heights region, according to an Israeli military spokesman, the Associated Press reported.
“It was on a humanitarian basis,” Israeli Vice Premier Moshe Ya’alon told Israel’s Channel 2, according to the AP. “Refugees approached the border, received medical treatment, and we decided to bring them in for treatment in our territory in light of their condition,” he said.
The wounded are being treated at Ziv Medical Center in the northern Israeli city of Safed.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled into neighboring Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
Israel has cautiously monitored the nearly two-year-old civil war in its northeastern neighbor, preferring to remain on the sidelines. But Israel fears that the fall of the Syrian government may lead to terrorist groups—Hezbollah or al-Qaeda affiliated rebels—gaining control of the government’s vast arsenal of sophisticated conventional weapons as well as chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction.
In late January, reports indicated that Israel launched an airstrike against a Syrian convoy containing advanced Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles that were likely destined for the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.
Israel and the Syrian military have also exchanged fire in the Golan Heights border region.
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UN chief: Iran might use diplomacy as cover to build nuclear weapon
(JNS.org) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that if the UN does not either accelerate diplomatic talks with Iran or aggressively decide whether such talks are effective, Iran might use diplomacy as a cover for continuing to build a nuclear bomb—just like North Korea.
“We should not give much more time to the Iranians, and we should not waste time. We have seen what happened with the DPRK,” Ban told the Washington Post, referring to North Korea’s launch of a third nuclear test device this week despite more than 10 years of diplomacy efforts to prevent it from pursuing nuclear weapons technology. “They [were] secretly, quietly, without any obligations, without any pressure, making progress,” he added.
Ban has traveled to Iran despite objections from other nations, especially the United States and Israel. While there he voiced his uncertainty to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the country’s nuclear research is peaceful, as Iran claims it is. The UN now plans to release a report that shows duplicity on the part of Iran regarding its nuclear intentions. Just recently, Iran transformed part of its accumulated uranium into metal that cannot be used for weapons, while also trying to purchase thousands of magnets for use in centrifuge machines.
Ban’s interview with the Washington Post came before his meeting with new U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. After the meeting Thursday, Kerry said diplomatic talks could only continue if Iran is willing to “make and discuss real offers and engage in a real dialogue.” According to U.S. sources cited by the Washington Post, Iran could assemble a nuclear weapon as soon as next year.
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Mayor: ‘Jerusalem will not be divided’
(JNS.org) Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat told the leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations that Jerusalem will not be divided.
“We need to look at the realities and recognize that no split city has ever worked. Ideologically and practically, Jerusalem cannot and will not be divided,” Barkat said Thursday while the leaders toured the city, in response to international pressure to stop Israeli construction in eastern Jerusalem, according to the Times of Israel. “When we build, we are building for everyone, including infrastructural projects and schools in East Jerusalem,” he said.
Barkat also noted the many initiatives promoting culture and encouraging tourism in Jerusalem. The city’s tourism industry is expected to increase to 10 million people a year and will provide 140,000 jobs in the near future, he estimated.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org